External fixators are often used as a method of immobilizing leg and other limb bones to allow a fracture to heal. These devices utilize pins or screws that are placed into the bone on all sides of the fracture. The pins and screws are then secured together outside the skin with clamps and rods within an external skeletal frame. As the bones mend back together, the external fixator can be adjusted such that the bones remain in an optimal position during the healing process. While fixators perform their intended function very well, such devices are difficult to install, adjust, and remove while the bone mending process is being conducted or has been completed. A typical process requires two (2) or more people to support the user's appendage while installing, adjusting, or removing the various pins and screws. Furthermore, the patient is often extremely uncomfortable due to the adverse pressure placed upon the appendage, as well as the difficulty of holding the appendage in place in an elevated position for a long period of time. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which an external fixator upon a patient's appendage may be supported for easy installation, adjustment, or removal in order to avoid the problems as described above. The development of the apparatus fulfills this need.
The apparatus of the present invention is an aid to assist in the installation, adjustment, and removal of an external fixator that has been placed on patient's leg or other limb. The apparatus is an adjustable “X”-shaped support frame forming a holding cradle for supporting a user's appendage in an elevated position. In a fixator removal situation for example, the apparatus is slid along the user's appendage from an upper portion of the fixator, nearest a user's torso. In such a position, the apparatus provides support for the user's appendage while supporting the appendage and fixator in an elevated position. The apparatus is adjustable in height, width, and length, and is provided with friction pads to add to the stability of the apparatus during use.
Prior art in this field consists of fixators that have supporting configurations, but these supporting configurations assist with ambulatory functions of the appendage while the fixator is attached, as opposed to supporting the fixators in an elevated position while installing, adjusting, or removing the fixator. Other prior art are supplemental supports for fixators, but again these are configured to assist with ambulatory functions of the appendage while the fixator is attached to an appendage. Other related prior art consists of articulating appendage supports that provide a means to hold an appendage aloft while performing work functions in non-salutary and compromising positions, such as operating on a patient for hours or performing mechanical work on an elevated object while lying on one's back.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a scaffold to support an appendage having a fixator attached thereto in an elevated position so that installation, adjustment, or removal of the fixator can be accomplished in a more efficient and effective manner by a single medical professional and with minimal discomfort experienced by a person having the fixator.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a low-profile configuration of the scaffold so as to minimally interfere with the installation, adjustment, or removal process of the fixator.
It is a further objective of the present invention to have this scaffold adjustable so as to provide optimal support.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide friction surfaces to a bottom portion of the scaffold to obviate inadvertent movement.